Ukraine Has ‘Won The Battle’ For Kyiv, Minister Claims As Mass Graves Unearthed Outside City

As Russia reportedly prepares for an all-out assault and invasion of the Donbas region in Ukraine, mass graves were found in the city of Kyiv on Saturday, April 9, indicating that the extent of war crimes committed by Russian troops may be larger than first expected.

The mass grave of civilian bodies was found in the suburb of Buzova, with dead children reportedly in the mix of the bodies. Kyiv reels from the failed Russian invasion, as many recount stories of women being raped by Vladimir Putin's soldiers in front of their children as well as the tongues of civilians being cut out due to refusing to praise Russia, according to the Daily Beast.

As European leaders like U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visit Kyiv and embassies reopen in an attempt to show faith in Ukrainians, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba claimed that Kyiv has “won the battle” and praised their military as among the best in the world for fending off the incoming Russian invaders, the New York Post reported.

“I believe it will not be an exaggeration to say that Ukraine proved to have one of the strongest army in the world, maybe the second strongest after the United States,” Kuleba said. “Not in terms of numbers but in terms of the battle experience and capacity to fight. And all we need is state-of-the-art weapons.”

While the mood in Kyiv is celebratory as Russian forces retreat, the eastern front of Ukraine appears to be facing a wider onslaught. An eight-mile convoy was found to be approaching the city of Kharkiv, with landmines found in the area as an attempt to begin Russia’s planned capture of the Donbas region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has even reportedly assigned Army General Alexander Dvornikov to bring order to the troops. Dvornikov, known as the Butcher of Syria, helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gain territory through massively aggressive strategies.

Dvornikov’s involvement raises fears for many analysts that the already-bloody Russia-Ukrainian war may get even bloodier as they try more aggressive tactics in an attempt to overtake both Kharkiv and the Donbas region.

“It has been a violation of the Geneva Convention and the law of land warfare and so forth. We’ve seen repeated evidence of that. And that’s what we’re gonna see more of, I fear, in the days and weeks that lie ahead,” retired U.S. General David Petraeus said.